Welcome to the Piano World Piano ForumsOver 2 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

I'm glad to see this thread resurrected also. I'm not in Book 3 yet, and as slow as I'm going through Book 2 I may never get there, but I like reading about what's up ahead. Congrats to everyone who has stuck it out through all three books. I hope that if and when I get to Book 3 this thread is still active.

Cyborg - good to see someone finally post here in this long dormant, but always worthy, thread - good luck with "Dancer" - hope it's not another 4 months until the next reply or post.

BTW - whatever happened to Undone, the last remaining regular here - did he become, well, a, er, undone...? He was a real player and we haven't even heard from him in the Recitals...

Trap

I work on/off in Book 3 with my lessons, so I don't really post here too much. I've decided I want to try and get out of Book 3 once and for all, so my teacher has agreed to accelerate through the lesson sections quickly and move onto to the "ambitious" section. Also, due to the pieces at the end of Book 3 I might be in it for a good while longer.

I wonder what happened to Undone too. He hasn't posted here in months. I'm more of a lurker than poster but I'm usually floating around at some point. If he has participated in past recitals, then that makes me wonder what's up.

_________________________
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.

I'm glad to see this thread resurrected also. I'm not in Book 3 yet, and as slow as I'm going through Book 2 I may never get there, but I like reading about what's up ahead. Congrats to everyone who has stuck it out through all three books. I hope that if and when I get to Book 3 this thread is still active.

The attrition rate to get to and through Book 3 is pretty high. So I'd never expect this thread to be super active. But anyone who makes it to Book 3 is to be congratulated. Anyone who finishes it is a superstar to me.

I know I was sick of Book 2 when I finished it. I loved finishing it though because of the arrangement of "Canon in D". It's been my favorite Alfred's piece so far. I'm sure that will change in the near future since I'll soon be in the ambitious section of Book 3 and it has several pieces that I've always wanted to learn. I'm real excited again about things to come.

_________________________
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.

Still on book 2, but I spend some time ripping the CD > MP3 for my phone, so I can listen to all the pieces in book 3.

For the first time, I can see a light.. some of the pieces in this book are awesome! "unfinished symphony", "toccata" and then the ambitious section.

The whole adult series 1,2 & 3 has a perfect progression of pieces, although if you like more modern pieces, I could understand a disappointment with the collection. For me, the truly great pieces are spread thinly throughout, but with enough interesting lesson pieces to keep the interest.

Hope this makes sense, and doesn't appear to much as a necromancer at work lol

After practicing earlier this evening, I spent some time reading through approximately the first 10 pages of this Book 3 thread. Will continue with the remainder in the next day or so.

I started Book 3 (All-In-One) about a week ago, although I read through the theory pages in the first quarter of the book before that. Like many others have pointed out, some of the "For Fun" pieces seem kind of lame, and I've given myself permission to give them short shrift. So "Super Special Sorta..." and "Calypso Rhumba" I did not spend much time on.

I am working on getting my speed up on Fandango. Jazz Sequences is a little further behind and just tonight I started looking at Serenade. Went through the first repeat section hands separate.

I'm still working on a few pieces from Book 2 (and will be for awhile). Outside of the Alfred books, I'm working on the Scherzo section of Haydn Sonata No. 9 in F major. I started on the "Married Life" section from "Up" but will probably shelve in for now.

I am hoping that the other Book 3'ers will check in with the thread now and then--it's always helpful and interesting to hear how others are faring.

I was looking to see if this thread was continuing and I am glad to see familiar posts! I've been away from this thread, but have been working back on the pieces in book 3, the simple and the not- so -simple:-)

"Moonlight Sonata" I've gotten to the end and am working on other music, for my band. Besides that, work intervenes, which is a good thing!

I'm off today because I don't go in until later and it's my birthday, so I can play "catch up" with folks that I haven't heard from.

For those who are just beginning book 3, don't give up. If you have gotten to the "Ambitious" section, take your time. It is well worth the effort!

Hey, Cyborg, congrats on being into the Ambitious section. I am oh so tempted to jump into it, but it will be better if I hold off a bit.

Meanwhile--I think I'm finished with Star-Spangled Banner. It is way far from polished, but I just don't enjoy playing it. Swan Lake is coming along, and I've played Scheherazade through HS once or twice. I'm doing other pieces outside of Book 3, so I'm keeping busy. My impression from reading this Book 3 thread is that a lot of people start adding in other pieces at about this point. I'm working on a version of Canon in D that I got from Monica K. I like it a lot better than the Alfred version from Book 2. Getting it up to tempo (lots of sixteenth notes in both hands towards the end) will be a challenge for me.

Hey! I was looking for this thread.. glad it's still going strong!I've gotten busy with work and busy learning some other ambitious music--playing with a two piece band and continuing to go back and forth in book 3.It's good to see folks continuing on! Take care!

Hurray! I've arrived in Alfred 3. The Canon in D was probably the best piece so far in the Alfred series but "A Super-Special Sorta Song" is a real low point in my opinion. Luckily it's not very difficult. However, it really tires my right lower arm. I haven't felt this tense (RH-wise) in a long time. What's my problem/mistake?

Super-Special looks like it keeps the right hand busy, but it's certainly no busier than, say, Canon in D in Book 2. So, sorry, I'm not much help there. If it hurts, stop.

For the last few months most of my piano time has not been focused on Book 3--there's just so much out there that looks good!--but I've just started buckling down again on #3. I'm working on Theme from the Unfinished Symphony and Steal Away. I use the "Just for Fun" and pieces I really don't care for for sight reading practice and spend my energy on pieces that speak to me.

Book 3 has a lot more theory and covers the remaining keys from the Circle of Fifths, so there's probably less space devoted to actual pieces than in the other books. If fact, other than playing in keys that haven't been covered in Book 2, one could probably dive into most of the pieces in the book whenever one chose.

for those who have successfully completed book 3 (congratulations, I am hoping to reach that point as well), what pieces are you guys able to play (just after finishing book 3)? how did you guys further your piano education beyond the alfred adult series?

Hi, Book 3 Piano Gang! I had a real time finding this thread, so thanks for the reference in the Alfred Adult Book 1 and 2 threads! I am a 58 year old self-teaching student and I've really enjoyed progressing at my own, albeit slow, rate.

Scheherezade, page 44-45 in the All-in-One. So far, I've gone through all the pieces in the first two Alfred (Basic) books, and the All in One #3 thus far, and the interpretation has generally been obvious, but I'm stymied here. I'm having a bit of trouble with the bass clef slurs and ties, especially at the top of page 45, 3rd measure -- Does one play the G and E-flat together for 3 counts (dotted half in 6/8 time) and then smoothly (legato) go to the G and D for one count (eighth notes) ----- or, is the G held for 4 counts, while playing first E-flat and switching to D? So far, as I'm learning the piece, I've sounded the G twice in the measure, but I'm not sure that is correct.

I've listened to the piece (not a familiar one to me) played here and watched on Youtube, but my ear is just not able to pick that up.

How does one make the distinction when the notes are the same between the slur and tie?

_________________________
Alfred's All In On Book 3 Sheherezade page 44

Hi, Book 3 Piano Gang! I had a real time finding this thread, so thanks for the reference in the Alfred Adult Book 1 and 2 threads! I am a 58 year old self-teaching student and I've really enjoyed progressing at my own, albeit slow, rate.

Scheherezade, page 44-45 in the All-in-One. So far, I've gone through all the pieces in the first two Alfred (Basic) books, and the All in One #3 thus far, and the interpretation has generally been obvious, but I'm stymied here. I'm having a bit of trouble with the bass clef slurs and ties, especially at the top of page 45, 3rd measure -- Does one play the G and E-flat together for 3 counts (dotted half in 6/8 time) and then smoothly (legato) go to the G and D for one count (eighth notes) ----- or, is the G held for 4 counts, while playing first E-flat and switching to D? So far, as I'm learning the piece, I've sounded the G twice in the measure, but I'm not sure that is correct.

I've listened to the piece (not a familiar one to me) played here and watched on Youtube, but my ear is just not able to pick that up.

How does one make the distinction when the notes are the same between the slur and tie?

I missed this post in the Alfred's Book#3 thread, so I'll take a stab at it now.

I believe the correct way to play those notes is your second method: the left-hand G is held for four counts, the Eb for three and then slide down to the B for one count.

A tie is usually indicated by having the curved line extending between the side of one notehead and another. A slur (or phrase line) is from one stem to another stem or between a stem and the top or bottom of a notehead.

A slur between two adjacent, identical notes doesn't seem that common--it's almost always a tie. At least in my experience (which isn't all that much).

I haven't finished Book 3 by any stretch, so I can't really answer (I'm hoping others will), but as I mentioned earlier, many of the pieces in #3 seem to be similar in level (i.e., less graded in level of difficulty) than Books 1 and 2. Instead, Book 3 brings in a good deal more theory and the remainder (or at least most) of the keys.

For me, it was at the end of Book 2 that I started branching out. For example, Canon in D at the end of Book 2 is great, but I started learning an arrangement the Lee Galloway arrangement of Canon in D that I liked better still. The Chopin Waltz in A Minor is another I worked on. Walking in the Air (a section of the G. Winston arrangement) is another. If you liked Etude (Chopin Op.10 no. 3) in Book 2, then the first 21 bars of the real deal are not impossible (the middle part is still way beyond reach). And so on.

Here are a few links to earlier discussions of what people were working on that you might find interesting:

Hunh. I think I just discovered an error on page 137 in the Ambitious Section ("...well-known classics in their original form...).

It's Chopin Prelude Op. 28 no. 7, measure 13 with the big chord. Alfred’s has an F5 but it should be an E5, if I’m reading it correctly. Am I reading it correctly? (Alfred’s puts the F4 in the RH rather than LH, but that’s okay.)

I was reading an old thread and came across a reference to an E in the right hand in that chord and that didn't jibe with what's in the Alfred score.

As I've mentioned before, I find Book Three less 'graded' in the sense that Books 1 and 2 worked best when taken from beginning to end, adding skills as one progressed through the books. Book 3 invites a little more skipping around and/or going to the back for the "Ambitious" selections.

From the early part of the book: Fandango was fun to play, I thought. The pieces before that, not so much, imo. I look forward to hearing what you guys think.

So far I've played up to p. 74 (Shenandoah), though I have certainly not polished every piece. In the Ambitious section, I've played Prelude 28 no.7 (Chopin) and that piece I have buffed a fair amount. I like it.

Agree with Stubbie on Book 3 inviting more jumping around. I've only played up to pg. 24 "Alberti Bass". I look forward to the Ambitious Section at the end of the book but I'm not sure I totally 'feel' this Alfred Series. I supplemented the series with Alfreds Masterwork Classics and told my teacher I want to complete all Levels 3-10 even if there's overlap. We're also working on other materials and have spent the past month on Bach's Invention No.1.

I went through the first few songs of this book in a breeze, then I somehow managed to learn Haydn's Serenade and now I'm stuck with A Very Special Day and Classy Rag. The first one especially shouldn't so difficult, right? And it's depressing to see how hard it is for me to coordinate the two hands in Classy Rag. Thought I was getting better at this.

_________________________
Diana & Wally - Yamaha W110BWMartha Argerich... is an incarnation of the artistic metaphor of the "eternal feminine" that draws us upward. (Sergio Sablich)

malkin, I'm learning so slowly right now that you will catch up with me in no time! I'm also trying to prepare something for the next ABF recital, but my progress is so slow it might well be next year's recital!

_________________________
Diana & Wally - Yamaha W110BWMartha Argerich... is an incarnation of the artistic metaphor of the "eternal feminine" that draws us upward. (Sergio Sablich)